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The Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday that Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will travel to India for an official visit from July 20 to 21 aimed at strengthening and consolidating the long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries.
In a brief statement, she added that President Wickremesinghe will pay an official visit to India on July 20-21, 2023 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The visit comes as the two countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
During the visit, the ministry said, President Wickremesinghe will meet President Draupadi Mormo and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi and other Indian dignitaries on a range of issues of common concern. “The visit will advance and consolidate the long-term bilateral relations between the two countries,” she added.
It will be Wickremesinghe’s first visit to India after being appointed president of the cash-strapped nation last year after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted in a popular uprising in July.
Wickremesinghe focused on good relations with India and made it a major plank of his foreign policy.
Last week, President Wickremesinghe, the country’s finance minister, said Sri Lanka wanted to see the Indian rupee used as much as the US dollar.
The visit comes as Sri Lanka’s weak economy is showing signs of improvement.
Sri Lanka experienced an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to the extreme scarcity of foreign exchange reserves. India has provided Sri Lanka with an economic lifeline, with dedicated lines of credit for fuel and basic materials.
The island country, which declared its first-ever credit default in mid-April last year, received a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in March this year, over 4 years subject to ongoing reforms.
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